Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
With the world going to shit and every news report warning of impending armageddon, it’s good to have a little escapism. It’s therapeutic to pop the headphones on and block out the outside world, but to help on the journey to a clear mind you need the correct sound. I go for classic hair metal every time. No threat at all of any right-on, subliminal messages, or “down with the man” lyrics. Fuck it, when I want that, I’ll call on Body Count. Give me some no-brainer metal, and I’m a happy chappy. The musical equivalent of the Fast & Furious movies, disengage brain and have some fun. Take the latest album from Swedes Crazy Lixx for instance. The simple act of misspelling the word “rough” tells me all I need to know. All killer, no filler, big, big choruses, and a party like it’s the 80’s attitude. Where do I sign, dude? Opener ‘Wild Child’ greets you like a long lost friend, as it kicks the front door down, makes itself at home and doesn’t leave for a week… that kind of friend. It’s big and brash with an absolute killer drum sound from Joel Cirera. There’s an 80’s cheesy horror movie thread running through the album (two songs feature on the soundtrack to the long-awaited ‘Friday The 13th’ video game), and this opener sets the tone. Wolves howling, lyrics about monsters, beasts, the midnight hour, howling at the moon, etc, mixed in with some cracking hooks, it is an opener that gets the blood pumping. ‘XIII’ is the first of the two tracks from the video game soundtrack. That classic Mick Mars guitar sound, spooky keyboard arrangement, and massive background vocals, it’s a perfect song for any kind of homage to what was an integral part of growing up in the 80’s. How synonymous is the blood-splattered hockey mask with modern horror culture?! The other track featured on the soundtrack is ‘Live Before I Die’, three minutes that out-slipperys Bon Jovi. The guitars, the gang vocals, the massive, massive chorus all scream Bon Jovi… but in a good way! My favourite track is perhaps ‘Walk The Wire’, where Crazy Lixx drop the hair metal sound and go with a more melodic/AOR vibe. Def Leppard meets Whitesnake ‘1987’ era that screams heavy MTV rotation, back when the “M” stood for Music instead of what it stands for today – “Meh”. Listen to the guitar solo near the end. You can almost picture a scantily clad supermodel cartwheeling across a car bonnet with plumes of dry ice carefully hiding any wardrobe malfunctions. ‘Snakes In Paradise’ runs it a close second. Again, Danny Rexon channels his inner Jon Bon Jovi in a cautionary tale of people not actually being what they pretend to be. Crazy Lixx are not a guilty pleasure by any stretch of the imagination, for the simple reason that if an album provides the listener with some pleasure then why should it be guilty? Available now through Frontiers Music. Review: Dave Stott
